Chapter 6- Political Beliefs and Behaviors Objective – Students will be able to answer questions regarding the development of political beliefs and behaviors. SECTION © 2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.

Who REALLY participates? American Government Different factors can tell us who votes Education – MOST IMPORTANT, more education=more voting Religious involvement Race and Ethnicity – Whites higher than minorities (might be economic based) Age – 18-24 is the lowest, and 45 and up is the highest

Who REALLY participates? American Government Gender – men traditionally voted more, now it is more equal Two-party competition – more competitive elections have higher turnout

Expanding Suffrage American Government Lifting of property restrictions (1830) – “universal manhood suffrage” gave voting rights to all white males Suffrage for African-Americans (1863-1964) 1865 - 15th Amendment – Voting Rights to all 1954 - Brown v. Board – separate but equal is illegal, killed Jim Crow laws 1964- 24th Amendment – banned poll tax 1965 – Voting Rights Act of 1965 – federal law prohibited (no literacy tests, fair elections etc.)

Expanding Suffrage American Government Women’s Suffrage (1920) – 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote 18-21 year-olds (1971) – 26th Amendment, sparked by Vietnam

Voter Turnout Registered Voter turnout Eligible Voter turnout American Government Registered Voter turnout Eligible Voter turnout Voter Registration – blamed as one of the causes of low turnout

Other reasons for low turnout American Government Difficulty of Absentee Voting Number of Offices to Elect too high Weekday, non-holiday voting Weak political parties – less “get-out-the-vote campaigns

Public Opinion American Government The distribution of individual attitudes about a particular issue, candidate, political institution, etc.

George Gallup Developed “Gallup Polls” Started in 1932 1st “pollster” American Government Developed “Gallup Polls” Started in 1932 1st “pollster” Since 1936, agency has picked one general election result incorrect

Sampling Representative – must mirror population you want answer about American Government Representative – must mirror population you want answer about Random – give everyone an equal possibility of being sampled Wording – questions can’t be leading Straw poll – poor polling technique

Political Socialization American Government Factors that influence a person’s opinion People in different social “groups” tend to share certain opinions: group identification

Family #1 influence of political attitude American Government #1 influence of political attitude Very strong correlation for Political Party support

Gender Examples More men support military American Government Examples More men support military More women consider sexual harassment a serious problem Since ’60s, women vote Dem more than men, and vice versa Not as significant of an indicator as marriage (married vs. unmarried)

Religion American Government Example Protestants are more conservative on economic matters than Catholics or Jewish people. Jewish people tend to be liberal on economic and social issues than Catholics or Protestants Catholics tend to be more liberal on economic issues than they are on social issues.

Education Example College education = liberal views American Government Example College education = liberal views Conflicting results, not always a correlation

Social Class “Blue collar” (Laborer) typically Democrat American Government “Blue collar” (Laborer) typically Democrat “White collar” (Businessmen) typically Republican Relationship is becoming less clear

Race and Ethnicity Examples African Americans – 90% Democrats American Government Examples African Americans – 90% Democrats Hispanic Americans – tend to affiliate with Democrats, but less likely than African Americans Asian Americans – less liberal than Hispanic Americans or African Americans, but still consistently vote Democrat White, more divided, fluctuates by election

Geographic Region Example East and West Coasts – more liberal American Government Example East and West Coasts – more liberal Mid-West – more conservative Urban - liberal South – 1870-1950s - Democrat “Solid South” but today they are primarily social conservatives White Southerner always less liberal

Political Ideology American Government Coherent set of values and beliefs about public policy Changes over time for all people Liberal and conservative mean different things at different time periods

Section 1 Assessment Describe the factors that effect political socialization. What factor do you think most effects your political views? 2. Describe the groups that tend to vote the most. Why do you think these types of people tend to vote?

Summary: In a paragraph, describe what you have learned today.